Saya Kage
by Kai-Jay Night
Summary: People say women cannot fight or defend themselves. Some even say they are weak are not good for anything without a man. They say there are no strong heroines, but one girl proved them all wrong. This is the life of Saya Kage, a girl who proved her worth as a ranger, and her worth to her master, Will. Will/Alyss and Halt/Pauline mentioned. Rated T for safety. First Fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

People say women cannot fight or defend themselves. Some even say they are weak are not good for anything without a man. They say there are no strong heroines, but one girl proved them all wrong.

It all began at the choosing day, in the Redmount Fleif. This day was the day when young orphans of the ward would come and choose their destiny, and what they would end up doing for the rest of their lives. For most teens this was hard, let alone for Saya Kage, a young woman who had none of the typical female traits. She was a quiet girl, who never asked for anyhthing. She wasn't just a typical shy girl; she was more of a girl who learned to take pleasure in being alone. She never had friends and never had a specific enemy, but she did get picked on for her accent when she was younger. See, Saya was from a clan in the south part of Araluen, who were from Nihon-ja. So she had the accent, and that was why she didn't talk to anyone. She knows and understands Araluen, but not as much as the others from the Ward.

All the teens gathered at the door of the Barron's office. There was whispering all around as Saya took account there were 7 teens, of them were 3 girls and 4 boys, other than her. She stood there silent, pondering for the last time over which craft to choose. She wasn't good at sowing, knitting, or cooking; so those weren't options. Saya thought of being a scribe, but with her short educated vocabulary and grammar that was a disaster waiting to happen. She thought of Battle school or battle horse school, but she knew well that a female would not be accepted in that field. Besides, brude strength was not something she had or could have. She thought of being a courier and she had lost her accent, but she still had problems with long words, and she wasn't that good with being able to settle simple arguments, she would more likely start the war, if she did that for a living. Then her mind drifted back to the only option left, and this was something she had thought of many weeks before hand, it was to be a Ranger's apprentice. The one thing that had drawn her to the rangers was their solitude and how little people knew about them. She also knew rangers were experts in unseen movement, archery, knife throwing, and strategy. She knew she had skills in hand-to-hand combat, knife throwing, stealth, and being able to hide in crowds; she also had a habit of knowing her surroundings before her mind went to anything else. Saya had heard from the stories of rangers that they even went to Nihon-ja, which meant that they may have more understanding with Saya's language.

It was time. The doors opened and all eight of them went in. Saya was at the end of the line. She looked around the room there were all the craftmasters she had seen some time or another, and as the door closed she herd to footsteps, one was normal the other was faint. One of the assistants told them to give them their names and what craft they would like to go in, and then when it was decided which craft they would go in they were to sit down. One by one the row of people standing grew shorter until it was only Saya standing. You could see most of the craftsmen roll their eyes, even the Baron didn't seen too excited. The row of teens all looked at her wondering what she would choose.

"Saya Kage, sir." She said trying to hide any trace of her accent.

"I don't think I know anyone else with that name." The Barron said jokingly. "So, what craft would you like to go in, child?"

"I would like to be a ranger, sir."

The whole room froze with shock, everyone was stunned. The room was silent until the Baron broke it. "Are you sure, child that that is what you want to do because I have never seen a girl who wanted to be a ranger."

"There's no other craft that has most of my strengths."

The ranger, in the corner of the room, pulled out a piece of paper and gave it to the Baron who read it and set it on his desk. She looked at the piece of paper, she could tell by the time it took for him to read it was about a sentence long. Then she looked the Baron in the eyes.

"I will think about this, and talk to some ranger corps members and decide then, child. All of you can go." He quickly put his hand over the note and nodded, which Saya noticed. She went with the others and walked out the door, and she was nervous, she knew her future was already decided. The question was, did the note say yes or no?


	2. Chapter 2

It was past nightfall and Saya couldn't sleep. She was thinking about the note. _What did it say? _That question nagged her so much she finally got up and got dressed and climbed out the window, in the way she always did, quietly. She knew she had to figure out what that note said. She dashed across the town to the Barron's office, using the shadows for cover. Once she got to the building, she looked around for any patrols, there were none. She assented the brick building and made it to the Barron's office. Saya looked around the dark office, as she sat in the window sill. It looked as though no one had been there in hours. She jumped into the room and walked toward the desk and picked up the paper. She felt a foot step toward her. She picked up the letter opener on the desk and threw it so that it missed the man, but only by an inch.

"I didn't think it would take you this long?" he said. She recognized him. He was the ranger at the choosing! He was young, medium height, with a lean build.

"You were expecting me?"

"Yeah, we were?"

_We?_ The door opened and another ranger came in, he was older and a bit shorter with almost the same build. Right behind him, was the Barron.

"We wanted to see you in action, to see if you had enough curiosity and skill to be a ranger," said the younger ranger.

"So this was a test?"

"Yes child, you can open the letter now." said the Barron.

Saya turned her attention to the letter and unfolded the paper. Marked on it were the words, "_She has the potential to be trained as a Ranger. I accept her as my apprentice." _She looked up at the younger ranger, she was filled with joy, but as she had perfected over the years, did not show it. She had a future now, to do something with her life, to help a greater cause than herself.

"Halt, would you and Will give us a moment alone?"

"Certainly, my lord." Halt said and they both left.

The Barron looked at Saya who was standing there stunned at what had just occurred. "Sit down, child, there's something I want to talk about with you."

Saya sat down, and looked at him.

"I know you are capable of being a ranger, but I want to know if you are willing to deal with the fact that you will be the only female ranger and you will have to go through the same training as everyone else. In the Ranger corps, there are no exceptions because of gender. What I am asking is, do you think you can be a ranger? Do you think that people will accept being protected by a female ranger? Are you willing to deal with the isolation and misunderstanding of rangers? This is a huge decision for you to make and it will change your life. It's ok if you go work in the farmlands, being a ranger isn't your only option."

"There is nothing else I know I'm good at, or could get better at, sir. My vocabulary and grammar are not good. I can't do things women are supposed to be good at. I'm not good at being physically strong. I know my strengths, and being a ranger is the only chance I have at being a part of something bigger than just me. I want to be a ranger, sir, more than anything else."

"I think that is the most I've ever heard you speak, and you do seem determined about this." He took a deep breath, and looked her in the eyes. "Fine, you will be a ranger, if you can make it through being an apprentice. You'll report to Halt's cabin at 6'o clock, your master will be there to great you."

"Thank you, sir."

"Good luck child, you'll need it. Now go and get some rest, you'll need that to."

Saya nodded and left the room. She was finally on the path she wanted, the thing was, was it the right path?


	3. Chapter 3

Saya got her bag together and left the Ward before anyone was done with breakfast. She walked down the path and looked back at the Ward, she was leaving her past behind, but it felt good, like she was becoming a new person. She continued down the road and didn't look back again.

She reached Halt's cabin, it was a simple log cabin with a stable outside. She saw the younger ranger on the front steps of the cabin.

"Good, you got here on time." He then stood up and motioned for her to come and then went inside. Saya quickly followed behind him. When inside the cabin it was roomy, it had a small kitchen, a fire place with a living area, and two bedrooms. There was another ranger too the older one, he had his back turned and was making coffee. Once he poured a cup he walked over to them.

"Your room is right there you can go and put your things in there." Will said.

"Thank you." Saya walked over and opened the door and put her bag on the base of the bed and looked around the room, it was a standard size room but she didn't have to share it with anyone. She then came back out and saw the older ranger with a bucket and sponge in his hands, and she knew want he wanted her to do. That day was spent cleaning and in the afternoon, the older ranger came up to her and asked, "Do you know how to cook?"

Saya with a calm voice said, "If I knew how to cook I would not be here right now."

"Will, will show you. Come on."

She got up and went with the older ranger into the cabin were the younger ranger was getting pats and pans out.

"You're going to need to teach your student how to cook."

"I know that." He said to Halt sarcastically. Then he looked at Saya. "Come over here and I can show you how."

Saya went over to where he was.

"I'll see you two tomorrow," the older ranger had said.

"Good-bye, Halt."

Saya looked at her new master and he taught her how to prepare a stew which took a lot longer than he expected because he had to explain in detail how to do things, which he realized just how much Saya was correct on her not being able to do things women are good at. After the dinner was prepared, they sat at a small table off of the kitchen area. After 5 minutes of silence, he finally broke it.

"So you don't talk much do you?"

"No."

"And you don't ask many questions, but I have one for you why?"

"I've never had that good of grammar skills so it was easy to just not be vocal about things."

"Did you have friends in the Ward?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Like I said I'm not good grammar wise or socially or with anything that involves food, except hunting."

"That explains it."

Once they were done, he took her out onto the porch, and told her the history of the Ranger Corps and how it was formed, how they did things, and what was a ranger's problem or just the Barron's. When he was finished, he told her how to address superiors, one example him. He told her to call him Will, and went into the explanation of why. He also told her not to be afraid to call Halt, Halt because of the same explanation as beforehand. Once it was dark, Will told Saya to get some rest, and she did.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, Will took her into the woods and showed her the weapons of a ranger and explained them to her. He had just finished the why part when Halt showed up.

"I guess you're teaching her earlier than I taught you?"

"That's because I think she is ready. If you wanted to do it your way you should have had her as your apprentice."

Saya thought of what it would be like to be Halt's apprentice and they were not good thoughts.

"Alright so watch me shoot and try to do what I do." Then he took stance and drew the bow and fired. It hit the target perfectly. "Now you try." He placed a bow in her hand and she took an arrow from the quiver. She knocked in place and took the same stance as Will did and drew the string back and fired. The arrow only missed by an inch. Will and Halt stood there in shock, and when she looked back at them they were speechless.

"When did you learn how to shoot?" Will asked.

"From you."

"You were right Will, she's ready."

"Most people take months to learn to shoot like that."

"I thought the point of this was to hit a bullseye."

"Yes, but most apprentices take a month to get that close." Will paused. "Why don't you shoot a couple more?"

"Okay." Saya took her stance and shot two more that were closer to the center; then with her third arrow she hit it and with the forth split it in half. Will then looked at her with his jaw dropped open. Halt then came over and patted her on the back, with a grin on his face and said, "In a year you could even be better than Will." He turned to Will who was still speechless. "I think she'll do fine at the Gathering." Halt then left and went into the cabin.

When Will finally regained the ability to speak, he told her to put the bow down and went a grabbed the saxe knife and showed her how it was used in combat. He also showed her how to throw the knife. Then he set up a target and showed Saya the appropriate stance and throwing technique. He stood back and let her throw it. She threw it and it hit the target perfectly. Will still amazed from when she hit the target, was fully stunned from how she was able to throw it so perfectly. She looked back at him and said,

"I learned that when I was 7, before I went into the Ward." She walked forward and grabbed the knife off the target and put it into the scabbard.

When he finally recovered enough to speak, again, he said, "Why don't you practice with the bow more and we'll call it a day?"

"Okay." Saya went and picked up the bow and fired, again and again; she hit the target perfectly every time. While she was working, Will went inside and told Halt what she did.

"She's a natural." Halt stated, after Will told him about it.

"How did she know that? That isn't something you can just pick up and do. You have to train, get better as you learn, right?"

"Correct, I'm going send Crowley a message, so we can talk about her and what we should do."

"Good idea, Halt. I'll go work on some more stuff with her, see if there is something she's not as good at that we can build on."

"Cooking would be a good idea."

As Halt and Will walked out the door, they saw that she set up 3 targets and she was shooting bullseyes in each target and Robin Hood shots after them.

"Work on with her on being in different shooting positions, she won't always be standing like that and then go on from there." Halt said in a hushed tone.

"Thanks." Will said in the same tone as Halt walked away toward the stable and mounted Abelard, and left for the castle. Will looked at his new apprentice, who was surpassing even one year apprentices, in just a day.

He walked over to her and for the rest of the day he showed her different positions for shooting, and in all of the positions the most amount of arrows she used one position to hit the target perfectly, was 7. By the middle of the afternoon, Will had no other positions to show her, and she was already getting quieter when she would draw and shoot an arrow.

"Well, we better start getting dinner ready." Will said as he turned toward the cabin and walked in; Saya followed behind him. Will showed her new spices and ways to chop things and she tried to pay close attention. They had stew again that night, but Will wanted her to know how to cook at least one dish. When they sat down to eat he tried asking her questions about her, and as predicted she went with the short answers to them. So the conversations didn't last long. After dinner, Will and Saya both went to bed. It was hard for Will, not to know who his apprentice was, or even what her past was.


	5. Chapter 5

After breakfast, Will told Saya that they needed to be somewhere. As they were walking Saya finally asked a question.

"Where are we going?"

"To get something that's important to Rangers." Will replied, and then turned his head forward. He grinned, _She's finally starting to be social._

As they walked a little further they came upon a group of buildings, surrounded by miles of forest. As they approached the largest of the buildings, someone familiar to Will came out and waved.

"Hello, Old Bob. It's good to see you again."

"Morning Will, who've you brought today?"

"This is my apprentice, Saya." Will said proudly. "Saya this is Old Bob."

"Hello." Saya said plainly.

"Shy aren't you?" Old Bob said surprised.

"No, just straight forward." Will said and he put his hand on her shoulder. He looked back at Old Bob. "Do have any that are ready?"

"Yeah, but let me see if there is 'un her size." Old Bob said and walk into the barn, they followed behind him. He seemed to disappear and then came out and motioned for them to follow. Once they got to where he was he had a horse right next to him, but it was too big. "Looks like this 'uns too big. I don't have any other's her size."

Will looked around and saw one in a stable nearby. "What about this one, Old Bob?" Will pointed to one that was perfect size and was jet black. Saya walked over to it, and it moved over to her. It touched its nose to her forehead and Saya grinned. It was the first time Will had seen her grin.

"That 'un from Nihon-ja and his words are written on this sheet," Old Bob went to go and get the sheet and came back and showed it to Will, "and I can't read it. All I know is that his name is Shun, but I don't know the language."

"Very few people do."

"Why does he need words?" Saya asked.

"Ranger horses have a phrase you say before you ride them," Will explained. "It's so they don't get stolen."

"What happens if you just get on?"

"They buck you off. Your master found that out the hard way." Old Bob laughed as the flashback came to the two of them.

"Yeah that hurt."

"Can I look at it?"

"Sure." Will handed it over to her and she looked at it and handed it back to him. "Do you know what it says?" Will asked.

She nodded.

"Let's take him outside and see." Old Bob said as he led the way to a fenced area were the horses rode.

"Why don't you get on him and see how he does?" Will said.

Saya nodded and whispered in the horse's ear. Then she mounted, and the horse stayed calm.

"It's a miracle! I thought that 'un would never have a chance, I guess I was wrong." Old Bob said with a smile. Shun bobbed his head like he was happy, which made Saya chuckle. Will smiled; she was starting to show her emotions.

"Can I ride him around?" Saya asked.

"Yes you can." Old Bob said as he opened the gate and she rode him into the area. Once in Saya made a clicking noise and the horse started to trout and she did it again and he ran. She rode him around for about five minutes when Will called them over.

"Let's see if he can come to you," said Will. She dismounted and let the reigns go and the horse ran all around the area. "Now go catch him."

Saya grabbed an apple and walked away from the gate. She stood ten feet away from the gate, lifted her right hand with the apple in it and wised with her left hand. The horse came and went in a circle, and slowed a bit so she could mount and rode around the perimeter of the gate. Saya was smiling.

While this was happening, Halt walked over to Will and Old Bob who were stunned at the sight of what just happened.

"I wonder where she learned that." Halt said which spooked Will because he didn't know Halt was there.

"We'll have to tell Crowley that too."

"She's talented, alright." Old Bob said. "From what I see she'll make a great ranger."

"Yes she will." Halt said.

Old Bob walked away and 2 minutes later Saya and Shun came over to the gate. She dismounted and gave him the apple, and then he bobbed his head when he was done and Saya smiled. Halt then leaned toward Will and whispered,

"That's the first time I've seen her smile."

"Yeah she's warmed up a bit today."

"Hopefully she'll start being more comfortable around us now."

"Hopefully."

They walked over to the gate and opened it.

"Come-on it's getting late, let's go." Halt said.

Saya looked up and nodded. She went over to them with Shun's reign in her hands.

"You can ride him back to the cabin; I'll show you how to take care of him when we get there."

She nodded and remounted. As they were about to leave Old Bob came out and bid them farewell. When they came to the cabin they put the horses in the stable and Will showed her how to take care of Shun. Meanwhile Halt went inside, Alyss was in the kitchen cooking dinner. She turned around

"Hello, Halt. Where's Will?"

"He's with his apprentice."

"So, there will be some else other than Will and me around. That's good to know. Is he loud?"

"Quite the opposite." Halt said.

Will and Saya walked in.

"When did you get here?" Will asked.

"About noon today. I heard you have an apprentice now." Alyss walked over and hugged Will and then stepped back. She was surprised to see his apprentice was a girl since she had never seen a female ranger, but Alyss was able to keep her composure, years of training helped with that.

"Alyss this is Saya. Saya this is my wife, Alyss."

"Nice to meet you." Saya said plainly.

"You too."

Halt then left for the night. When dinner was ready Will and Alyss were catching up with each other, and Saya was silent. After words, they all went to bed.


	6. Chapter 6

They next morning, Will left with Halt to meet with Crowley, while Alyss stayed home with Saya. They were both making breakfast in complete silence and then sat down to eat. Alyss tried to get a conversation going.

"Will said you are good with bow."

Saya shrugged.

"He said you hit the target perfectly on your 3rd shoot and spit it in half on your 4th."

She shrugged again.

"You're not a very verbose person are you?"

Saya looked up at her. "What?"

"I said you're that verbose when you speak?"

She tilted her head and looked as if she was a foreign diplomat who didn't know Araluen. "You don't know much of the language, do you?"

"I know enough to live here without any problems, unless people start using complicated words, like verbuse."

"Verbose?" She said. It was one of the simplest words she used.

She shrugged.

"Well, verbose means to use a lot of words or too many words. So a person who is verbose is very..."

"Talkative."

"Yes, talkative, which, when I said that you weren't a very verbose person, I meant that you're not that talkative."

Saya nodded. A moment of silence went by.

"So, when did you come into the Ward?"

"7."

"What happened to your parents?"

She looked down. "Never knew them."

"Then who brought you to the Ward?"

Saya stayed silent as the flashbacks went through her head. Alyss knew that she was getting to a sensitive topic in Saya's past and decided not to go deeper into how she got to the Ward.

"Who raised you, then?"

"My aunt and uncle."

Alyss looked at the young woman next to her, and from what she could tell it was her past that made her be so isolated with her emotions. Then Alyss decided to share her story of how she got into the Ward it was short, but Alyss felt the need to share it.

When Alyss was finished with her story, Saya got up, washed her plate and went outside toward the stable where they kept the horses. Alyss then decided to go and fetch some water for the day as she walked past the stable and was stunned by the fact that Saya was smiling as she took care of her horse, Shun. Alyss kept walking toward the pond, with a smile on her face, knowing there was hope that she would be able to come out of her shell.


	7. Chapter 7

Meanwhile, Halt, Crowley and Will met up in the forest about 6 miles away from town.

"She's a natural, Crowley." Will stated. "It took her 3 arrows to hit a bulleseye and with the 4th arrow she split the 3rd one in half."

"Were did she learn that from?"

"I don't know, she said she learned it from me."

"And you don't believe her, Will?"

"No one's that good when they first start out. She had to learn it earlier."

"Which leads us to her past before the Ward." Halt said.

"It's going to be hard getting her to speak about it since even now she still hasn't talked to us much about anything let alone about her past."

"Just try talking to her Will, she'll warm up eventually." Crowley said. "The Gathering's coming up maybe that will help as well."

"Maybe, or it will do the opposite."

"Only time will tell, Will. Right now she needs as much help as she can get."

Later that night, Will walked into his cabin and saw something strange. He saw Alyss and Saya sitting near the fire, talking. He closed the door behind him and hung his cloak on the hook. Alyss looked up at him and smiled.

"How was your day?"

"Different. How was yours?"

"Great, I was able to teach Saya some new words."

Saya nodded.

"That's good."

Saya dismissed herself and went to bed. Will poured a cup of coffee and sat by Alyss.

"I tried talking to her, and I got some things of her past from her but she is still not as vocal about it as we would like."

"So what did she say to you?"

"She said she never knew her parents, she was raised by her aunt and uncle, and entered the Ward when she was 7."

"Did she tell you who brought her there?"

"No, when I asked her she was just quiet, she went into a blank stare."

"Must have been hard for her."

"Yeah it must have been."


	8. Chapter 8

It had been a mouth and Saya was starting to show her personality more and more. She was finally putting her input in discussions between Will, Halt, and Alyss, but she was still isolated around others. She was excelling at all her prospects of being a Ranger except the fact she was still was poor cook even after a month of teaching and practicing it. Not that, she wasn't trying, but she was just wasn't good at it. Alyss had always joked that if she ever had a husband, he needed to know how to cook. They had all always laughed at that fact.

Halt had been focusing on teaching her battle strategy and field medicine, when Alyss and Will needed time alone, which didn't bother Saya at all at least she got to know Halt, and wasn't afraid him, now. Halt was impressed with her already familiarity with field medicine and her easy logic with battle strategy. He also, without Will, Alyss, Pauline, or anyone else's permission, taught her how to throw people into moats, even people bigger and stronger than her. Do not ask how they practiced.

Alyss had been tutoring her on Araluen and she was getting more confident in her speech every day. She had finally got her ranger cloak and bronze oakleaf, which she smiled all that day.

As the mouth past quickly, the day of the Gathering was here. Will had explained to Saya that the Gathering was where all the Rangers would be able to gather at one place and to be able to catch up with each other, as well as having some fun. They had spent the morning getting their supplies together and their horses ready, Halt and Will said good-bye to their wives and Saya waved bye to them as they left.

They had been traveling about a day when they decided to camp for the night. Will explained to Saya what their mission for her, at the Gathering, was and she smiled. She was going to enjoy this.

Halt and Will had put their stuff down at the grounds and where pitching the tents when Crowley came up.

"Will, where your apprentice?"

"I told her about what us Rangers do to see who has the best unseen movement, so she is hiding right now trying to catch Gilan."

"Gilan? She is going to have to be really good to catch him. She might as well try to catch me."

"We'll tell her to do that if she sees ya."

"If that kid can catch me, Halt, I won't drink coffee for 24 hours."

"You're on."

Crowley turned and left to his hiding spot. Will looked over at Halt and they both smiled.

As the sun began to set and everyone seemed to be there, they all had a greeting by Crowley, and as he was speaking Will couldn't stop smiling. Gilan, who was sitting next to Will, was suspicious of this. In front of everyone, Crowley looked at Will and said,

"Will, where is your apprentice?"

Will and Halt both looked at Crowley.

"I don't know, Crowley could you tell me?"

"What?"

Just then Crowley felt the touch of a metal blade behind the back of his neck. Everyone was silent as they saw a young, short girl with a long black braid, in a ranger's cloak, holding a knife to Crowley's neck.

He put his hands up in surrender, and looked at Halt. "I guess that 24 hours starts now?"

"Yes it does." Halt replied with a smirk on his face.

Crowley turned around to face his attacker, and was humidified by what he saw. Will stood up and put a hand on her shoulder, as she sheathed her knife.

"Crowley this is Saya Kage. Saya this is Crowley the chief of the Ranger Corps."

Crowley put a hand out to hers. "You're good kid, I underestimated you."

Saya nodded and shook hands with him. The other Rangers at the Gathering were still speechless about what this girl did.

Saya sat down in-between Halt and Will, and Gilan introduced himself. They had all spent hours catching up. When everyone started drinking coffee, Crowley excused himself, and made a small fire by his tent. Halt had thought it would be funny if they gave him decaf coffee, so Halt made a pot. Saya hadn't drank any of hers yet, so she felt the need to give it to him. So when the decaf coffee was ready, Halt got a mug and poured it. He handed it to Saya and winked. She took it and walked away from the large fire to Crowley's small fire pit. On the way there she switched the mugs. Crowley looked up at her as she handed him the mug.

"Halt said that you might want a cup." Saya said. "But I will have to warn you its decaf." She winked. He took the cup and held it in his hands. "Truce."

"Sure thing kid, but on one condition," she nodded, and he continued. "When I have a sceme like that in mind for Halt, you have to agree to be a part of it."

"As long as it doesn't get me killed."

They both nodded, as if saying a silent agreement. She walked toward the big fire sipping the decaf coffee, it wasn't far from what regular tasted like. She hid a smile as Crowley gave the performance that he didn't know it was "decaf" and was "surprised". It worked because everyone started laughing their heads off.

The night was concluded and Saya settled in her tent that Halt and Will had pitched for her since she was able to catch Crowley. She slept knowing she had gotten her job done. And made a new friend.

The next day she was sent to train with the one year apprentices, she was embarrassed to say she was nervous; she hadn't had a typical conversation with people her age since…she could remember. As she walked toward the meeting place, Will pulled her aside.

"You have nothing to be worried about you got great aim and good speech."

Saya nodded and Will patted her on the back as she left toward the meeting place with her bow in hand. She saw that there were five other first-year apprentices. The Ranger, Meralon, had set up 10 targets for each of them to shoot at. When he heard she was Will's apprentice, he knew from last night anyway, he had decided to make her life a nightmare in the training. He told her that if she shot all ten targets perfectly without missing then she could go back to camp. But if I didn't I had to stay there and practice 'til she did. He had also told her to call him sir, but she ignored that, because of Will saying, "Never call a Ranger sir." Just then Will, Halt, Gilan, and Crowley walk up from a distance and watched. Crowley knew Meralon would single her out because of her master, but he wanted to see how she would react to this.

She picked up her bow and locked an arrow into it. Then she began to hit each target in a matter of seconds, it had seemed like she was done in a blink of an eye. Each target was hit perfectly. She looked back at Meralon who was shocked and then to her master. She smirked. Will walked down to her and patted her on the shoulder.

"Good job." Will said.

A smile appeared on her face as she looked at him.

Will looked at Meralon, who was stunned. "She's good isn't she?" He looked at her and told her to head back to camp and she did. Then he turned his attention back to Meralon. "You can hold a grudge against me, but don't hold against her." Will then walked away to catch up with his apprentice.


	9. Chapter 9

The next day, Gilan had taken over the class so he gave them their tactical assignment. Saya looked at it and knew it right away. She wrote down a perfect strategy, the boys on the other hand did not get it at all. When they had each turned it in, Gilan read the boys first, which were mediocre and they all looked similar. When he looked at Saya's it was a full on strategy, with backup plans and mental notes, and when he showed it Crowley, he was shocked. Crowley then gave it to Halt and Will who were surprised at the fact she was able to plain something so elaborate without having to think it over days, like they had before a battle. Saya may have a hard time speaking Araluen sometimes, but she was good at what a Ranger needed to be good at.

As the last day of the Gathering had come, and Saya was sad that it was ending, she loved being able to talk to Gilan about battle strategies and unseen movement she could honestly say that she was going to miss him. Before they left, Gilan told her that at the next Gathering he would show her a few tactics that he had come up with, which made her excited. She was actually glad she came to the Gathering.

As they rode home, Halt and Will could tell that Saya had opened up a lot more. Will was proud of her, he had only trained her a month and he was as proud as could be.


	10. Chapter 10

When they got home they unpacked and tried to rest until there was a knock at the door. Will got up and opened it to find Alyss standing there.

"Will. You, Halt, and Saya need to come to the castle now."

"What's wrong?"

"I'll explain on the way."

Halt, Will, and Saya grabbed their cloaks and weapons and headed out the door and mounted their horses and followed Alyss. Alyss explained there was a leader of a clan in the southern most part of Araluen who wanted to negotiate something with the King Duncan, but he wouldn't say what. Alyss explained that he wanted the three of them there because he needed advice from Halt and Will and he knew he had to have Saya come along too. Saya wasn't offended by this she knew she was just an apprentice in her first year of training, what did she know.

As they came into the meeting room, she took a seat next to Will at the table. She was trying to stay calm and not speak. She saw some familiar people in the room Horace, Pauline, the King, Sir Rodney, but that was about it. As the meeting began it was hard for her to pay attention to what was being said, because she didn't know that it was him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Note= the * mean it is in Nihon-ja (aka Japanese).**

_Saya's_ heart stopped as he entered the room. She knew his face better than anyone else, he was like a brother to her and when her aunt took her away to give her a better life, Ryuu saw it as that she left him, and it was by her choice.

He walked in as proud as could be. _*Ryuu, my brother, what have you become?* _Saya thought to herself as he stood in the middle of the room. Will noticed Saya's expression change. She went from being serious to be focused on this boy as if he was her opponent. She was tense knowing he was not here for a good reason.

"King Duncan, I presume." He said in a confident tone, but he had a strong Nihon-jan accent.

"Yes he is, and you are?" Horace said as he stood up from his chair.

"Ryuu Hanshou, head of the Kasai clan."

"What happened to Akio Hanshou?" King Duncan said.

"My father recently passed away," he said looking down a bit, "which brings me to why I am here. I am here because of a problem my people wish to be solved. Your people are ransacking our village, destroying our crops, and mocking our traditions. My people and I wish this to be solved by duel."

"What can we solve in a duel that we cannot solve threw negotiations?"

"Honor, honor is my very people's way of life. This is how we do things."

"There is no honor in duels, only pride." Halt said in a normal tone.

"Well among their clan there is." Saya said in a hushed tone. "It's survival of the fittest, no one truly wins, not matter how hard they try."

"How do you know so much about this?" Will asked.

"I use to live near there. Long story, I'll tell you all later."

She looked up at him. He had changed since the last time she saw him. She leaned over to Halt and whispered, "If anyone duels him, it has to be me."

"Why?"

"Because I know his style, I know how he fights."

Halt nodded, he knew why she told him, because if she had told Will he would have objected right away.

"I am willing to work this out diplomatically, but I am not willing to have this solved through violence. And I think most of my advisors in this room can agree."

One by one each group of people nodded at Duncan, Ryuu looked at the hooded people to the right of him, and saw something he knew very well. A black arrowhead necklace was out in the open. He moved toward her and she looked up at him and there was just enough light that hit her face for him to see who she was.

"Saya?"

She nodded.

*"You're one of them?"*

She nodded.

He stood there shocked, all this time he thought she had died with her aunt, but she was still alive. She stood up out of her chair, and flipped her hood off.

*"Yes it's me brother."*

*"You were here all along and said nothing about us."* He paused and looked at her.* "You didn't just leave us, you betrayed us. You joined those gaijin mockers, just like your uncle did."*

*"You can mock me and my reputation, but don't get my family involved."* She said in a clam voice.

Horace came over and stood in between them and faced Ryuu. "We think you should leave now."

Ryuu looked at her and said, *"Don't think this is over, sister, it has only begun. Soon you will know what real pain is."* Then he turned and left. Everyone's eyes in the room fell on Saya, who stood there with his words repeating in her head, _*"Soon you will know what real pain is."*_


	12. Chapter 12

Once they got back to the cabin, Saya knew she would have to tell them everything, and she did. They all sat around the table or stood behind them; Halt and Will sat on both sides of her to help her be as comfortable as they could. And she began,

"When I was young I grew up on the outskirts of the Kasai clan and my aunt and uncle helped with the sending messages in and out of the clan's gates, which is how I know Araluen. It's also the reason why I know Ryuu, he was a friend that I would see when we came into the village. I would train in martial arts when they were sending messages, which is how I know hand to hand combat and how to throw a knife." She saw Will nod, and then continued. "When I turned seven my uncle died, and it was hard for my aunt to raise me without him. So, one of her messages she had to send was up at Redmont, so she told me to pack my things that day and we left." Saya paused, and Alyss knew that this was a sensitive topic with her. "When we got to Redmont it looked like there was a festival going on. My aunt for some reason wanted me to go over to a couple of knight and tell them that she need them for something and when I brought them back to where she was standing…she was gone. All that was left was my bag and a note saying, 'Stay strong and one day you'll understand.' Even today I still don't understand." Will put his hand on her shoulder. "I called her name and she didn't respond she just left me there. Alone. The knights took me to the Ward. None of them knew my accent and it was hard make friends because there were still some things culturally I couldn't understand. So, I just stayed silent, it was easier than being rejected all the time." When she finished everyone in the room was shocked to see what she had gone through, and all understood why she acted the way she did.

"What did Ryuu say to you at the meeting?" Halt asked.

"He said I was a traitor and that soon I will know what real pain is." Saya said and looked down, she knew what he meant by pain and she would never just let it happen.

Halt looked at her expression and saw for the first time, that there was fear in her eyes. He then turned his attention to the others in the room. "Will and I will stay here tonight. Alyss, you stay with Pauline."

"What's the point Halt? He just one man, there isn't much he can do." Horace said.

"He's not just one man, Sir Horace. He has at least 15 men who are trained in advanced hand to hand combat and stealth. They may even be good enough to level with a ranger in a fight, in other words 20 of them could storm the castle and conquer it. Trust me, you cannot underestimate them, it's a disaster waiting to happen."

"How do you know this?"

"They were the ones who killed my uncle. I know very well of what they can do."

"Alright, we'll go with Halt's plan for tonight." Will said with his hand still on her shoulder.

"I'll see if we can kick these people out of Redmont tomorrow." Horace said as he left the cabin. Alyss and Pauline followed him out. All who was left was Halt, Will, and Saya, they all knew this was going to be a long night.

Two hours later, when it had been dark for a while they all decided to get some rest. Saya went into her room, Halt went into Will's, and Will slept on the couch. They all slept peacefully, until they came.

Saya woke up; someone had something over her mouth and a knife to her throat. She hit the attacker in the stomach and took the knife and hit him with it. , She opened the door to living area where she saw Will and Halt being held down, and threw her knife into one of attackers. She ran into out on them, and fought hard, but she couldn't save them. Her only family and she couldn't save them. She saw now that their faces where covered, but she knew who they were. They had surrounded her and held her down. When they had an enough control of them they drug them outside and separated Saya from her mentors. She screamed her mentors' names and tried to break free, but someone put a choke hold on her, and no matter what she tried, she couldn't break free. She was losing conciseness fast and the last thing she saw was Halt and Will being tossed into the other wagon. When Halt and Will tried to break free more force was put on them. Saya saw everything, she heard them grunt from the pain that was put upon them, the anger and adrenalin going through their bodies. Then darkness.


	13. Chapter 13

When Saya woke up, she was in a dark room with gray stone walls. She sitting in a chair hands shackled behind her back. She was alone and worried about what they would do to Will and Halt, and wondering if they had also gotten to Alyss and Pauline. She couldn't think about it. She knew she needed to focus on getting out of here, with Will and Halt, alive. It wouldn't be easy, but it's what she needed to do.

Will and Halt came to; they were in a dark room with gray stone walls. Their minds immediately went to Saya. Will hoped she had escaped or they left her at the cabin, but the last time he saw her she was being dragged away from them, screaming their names, desperately. Halt looked back to that moment and remembered Will who screamed his name like that when the Skandians took him away, and when he was shot with a poison in the forest. He remembers Gilan screaming his name when he was about to have his head removed from his body, but hearing Saya's scream was more heart wrenching then theirs, maybe even combined.

"She'll be fine, Will. Even if they did capture her she knows how to stay alive."

"I know Halt… but what if they already killed her?"

"They didn't. That head of the Kasai clan, told her that she would know what pain was and meant it as emotional pain because he believes she betrayed him." Halt paused. "If anyone's getting killed around here will it's us."

"And they'll do it right in front of her." They both looked down, trying not to think about it.

That morning when Horace, Alyss, and Pauline came back to Halt's cabin it was not good. From a distance they could see wagon marks in the snow. As they got closer and closer Horace noticed something about the door it was cracked open, which Will and Halt never did. He stopped and looked up at the chimney, no smoke. He dashed toward the door and inside. There was no one. Alyss and Pauline were close behind him. The inside of the cabin was destroyed they checked the rooms there was no one, but all over were signs of fights. Horace saw something on the counter a knife was holding it down. He handed the letter to Alyss who read it aloud.

_"'To my friends of Araluen,_

_ I have had a confutation with your friends and I would intently wish not to harm them, but in the finding that my own friend dearest to me has betrayed me in the worst of manner of my people. I have the right to show her what she has done to my spirit, by breaking hers. It is a strong part of our culture. I did not mean this personally to anyone else effected, except for Saya Kage. _

_ I wish you well,_

_ Ryuu Hanshou, head of the Kasai clan.'"_

"Let's get this to the Barron. Horace you tell Crowley, we need someone to start tracking now before it snows more."

They quickly got back on their horses and went to where they needed to be. Horace was able to get to Crowley and told him what happened and that they need someone to track the trails their captors had made. Crowley went with Horace and quickly started tracking. Meanwhile, Alyss and Pauline were taking to the Barron who sent word to the King. When Horace and Crowley got to Halt's cabin, Crowley knew that it was a group of at least 8 people. They started heading down the trail the Kasai clan left behind, as fast as they could. They hoped that their friends could stay alive long enough for them to get there.


	14. Chapter 14

*** means it's in Nihon-ja**

Ryuu walked into Saya's cell. He was armed with a club, and she knew what he wanted, but no matter how hard he tried he would never get a word out of her about Araluen's defenses or the ranger corps. She sat there in silence; she didn't even look up at him. He walked around her, tapping his club on his hand, so you could hear the sound easily.

*"You humiliated me, betrayed me, and even mocked me by joining those gaijin. Why? Why did you do that to your people?"* He smacked her hard in the face.

She looked up at him,* "It was by fate, not by my choosing brother. I never wanted to hurt you or any of our people, but that is where my road took me."*

He looked down at her and the seriousness in her eyes, but he didn't want to hear that. He hit her again, this time it was twice. He lifted her head up.

*"Why don't I go say hi to your friends? I'm sure they'll be happy to share the pain with you."* He left before she could say anything.

Then two men walked in. They looked at as if they had already won the war against Araluen. They untied her and picked her up out of the chair and hooked each of her hands to the ceiling, so that they were away from her body. Then, they began their interrogation. They asked a question, she looked up at them, and stared not saying a word. They then punched her in the stomach. They asked it again, she still said nothing. They punched her twice, and then asked another. Again, she said nothing. They did this for an hour, each question only lasted a minute. Saya endured through each punch, kick, and insult they threw at her, and she endured. When her captors were worn out, they unhooked her from the ceiling, and hooked her to the wall and left. She lay on the ground in pain, she won this battle, but the war for her survival had only just begun.

In other holding cell, Halt and Will had talked to each other, trying to keep the other from thinking of the worst things that could be happening to Saya. _She's just a kid, hasn't even been a ranger for a year and is already dealing with being a hostage._ Halt thought as he sat there next to Will. He didn't want to say anything that would worry Will, or even hint at it. Just then, Ryuu entered their cell with an angry look on his face. Will looked up at him.

"I see your people are hard to negotiate with." Ryuu said as he walked around them, his eyes following their every move. "Let's take a test." A nefarious smirk appeared on his face. "Let us see who can break first under interrogation, the apprentice…or the masters?"

"What did you do to Saya?" Will asked looking him straight in the eyes.

"She and I had a conversation. It was brief though, she didn't feel like talking. I need to see you two are the same; I left her with some of my friends, just to make sure I was keeping my promise to her."

Will and Halt were furious. Will started threatening him, while Halt could feel his anger rise within him. Ryuu punched Will in the face and told him to shut up, then looked over at Halt to see if he was going to do anything about it. Halt looked up at him rage burning inside of him, as he looked up and stared at him. Will looked at his former teacher and saw the look that anyone who wants to live, doesn't want. In his eyes, Halt said_, "If you did anything to her, when I get these chains off of me, I will end you in the most painful way possible." _

Just then, two men came in, both were wearing masks. Ryuu looked at the two men in the room and nodded at them. They then unhooked their chains and drug them to the side of the room and hooked their arms to ceiling, just as they did with Saya. The interrogation lasted just as long with no answers given. When the two finally left them, Halt put a hand on Will's shoulder.

"She'll live. She lasted through the Gathering, she can last through this." Halt said trying, in his way, to keep Will positive.

Will just looked at his mentor and he knew what he was trying to do. "Halt, I know she will make it. I just…I just don't know if we will."

Halt nodded and tried to sit up but the pain was too great. Halt the laid on the ground. "Just do me a favor."

Will nodded.

"Pray, if they do kill us they will do it quickly," Halt started to grin, "and they would give us coffee before we leave."

Will smiled as they both let their tiredness consume them.


	15. Chapter 15

Saya woke as the pain in her stomach grew with every inch she moved. She tried to prop herself up against the wall, but the pain was too intense. She laid herself down on the cold ground. She finally mustered up the strength to look at herself, and found that her stomach area looked like one, big brose. She set her head down as the soreness ached throughout her body. The more she breathed the more intense the pain was until she almost blacked out from it.

Just then Ryuu walked in with two other guards, they picked her up and chained her to the ceiling.

*"Do you want to talk now, or after the pain?"*

She stayed silent because of the fact that it hurt to breathe let alone to talk and she wasn't going to give them the information anyway.

*"I guess my friends will have to show you manners. It seems you lost them when you became a gaijin."* He looked at them and grinned, as he left the room. The men walked toward her with wooden staffs, and Saya knew this was going to hurt. The staff had a more precise precision point at which the injury would happen, and as she thought about the bruising she had, all she could hope for is that she would black out soon. But, even though each strike hurt, she never told them anything or gave them the joy of hearing her scream she held those emotions in as she strike came at her before she welcomed the utter darkness to take it away.

Halt was the first to wake and as he did he looked at Will who was just lying there sound asleep, as if they were not in this place. Halt didn't want to wake him, but he didn't want him to be asleep when the guards came in. Halt crawled over to him and shook him slightly, just enough for him to wake up. As Will opened his eyes, he looked at Halt.

"I was hoping that was all a dream." Will said showing a tired grin.

"Yeah I was hoping the same thing, but it is reality."

"Have you seen her?"

"No, but I have a gut feeling they'll kill us soon."

"What makes you say that?"

"It's been a day. The only way to break some like Saya is to…," Halt paused because it hurt to say this, "is to kill the people they trusts really quickly and make it so multiple people get killed over a short period of time." Halt paused and looked away from Will, "and then make them suffer, 'til they give up and either tell you what you want or kill themselves."

"Saya's strong."

"Yes, but we're the only family this kid's got." Halt paused as reality set in. "What will happen if she has no one else to open up to? What will happen to her mind, when we are gone?"

Will looked away as he remembered the beginning days of her as his apprentice. He never regretted taking her in as his apprentice; he only regretted not protecting her as much as he should have.

Just then two of Ryuu's men, came in and interrogated them just as did with Saya, but only worse.


	16. Chapter 16

Horace and Crowley were riding on the trail, when they saw something heading towards them, fast. As the figure came closer, they realized it was a Ranger, and as the man stopped before them he looked at them. The other men recognized him immediately.

"Gilan? What are you doing out here?"

"I was coming to check up on Will. I wanted to see if he and his apprentice were getting along; when I heard Horace off in distance and you next to him and it has to be important if Horace came on a tracking mission."

"They were captured, Gil."

"Captured?"

"Yes and we need to find them before this maniac kills them." Horace said quickly, staining that they needed to hurry.

"Gil, did you happen to see wagon tracks in the snow on your way here?"

"Yeah I thought it was strange for this time of year."

"Then lead the way." Horace said.

Gilan nodded and turned his horse around and started running as fast and the horse would go, and the others did the same, as they were trying to do everything they can to save their friends.

Halt and Will were awaken to the guards picking them up and dragging them to a large room where they through them on the ground and as they lay there, Ryuu came in.

"I'm sorry to have wakened you but I needed to get this over with." Ryuu said as he walked around them. He signaled for the guards at the doors to do something, but they didn't know what.

As the sun set the guards grabbed Saya and dragged her out of her cell. She couldn't even stand in her condition it hurt just to think of breathing let alone to walk. She looked up as the door opened and she saw people she thought she would never see again, but she was wrong.

They all looked at each other and as they did they felt joy and grief that they were going to die, but at least they were able to see each other one last time.

Ryuu, walked in front of Saya, and whispered, *"Now you shall know true pain."* He motioned to the guards, as the two guards holding her kept their strong grip on her, two others moved Will in front of a large water bucket and the others surrounded Halt in a circle so he would have to fight seven of them to be able to get out.

Saya could only watch in horror as they proceeded in drowning Will, and gang beating Halt. She knew what he wanted, he wanted her to beg, but she wouldn't give him the pleasure of it. As she looked as Will started to go limp, a rage inside of her started to control her. She felt as though something was kicking in, something she had never felt before.

*"I told you I would teach you true pain."* He smirked, *"Now you will have nothing, gaijin, you die along with them."*

That did it and as he said that her body was overcome with rage and anger, her eyes dilated as she looked down toward the ground and let the emotions have her. She loosened her limbs and as the guards let their guard down. She stroke hard, taking both the guards down as she through their knives at the guards drowning Will, taking them down quickly. She moved toward the guards around Halt, taking a couple of them out before using a weapon on them, the surujin (a yard long rope with metal weights at the end). As she swung with brood force at her opponents in a way they had never seen, as her rage and reflexes kicks in. Each attack calculated perfectly. She had taken down 20 armed men in a matter of 3 minutes. As soon as the fight started, Ryuu had left fearing for his life as she took some of his best trained men down like it was nothing. She stood in the middle of the room as Halt and Will looked at her. Her breathing was getting shorter as she stood there at the ground.

Will walked over to her and put his arm on her shoulder and she looked and him and hugged him. She leaned against him and cried. She was worried she was about to lose him. Just then, Halt had come over and put a hand on her shoulder. The tears kept flowing from her face, until she had let her adrenaline fully crash, causing her to fall asleep in her master's arms and he held her as she slept. He looked at Halt, who looked him in the eyes to see a slight tear fall from his face. He was happy to see that Saya was ok, and they were here with her.

Just then, Horace, Crowley, and Gilan came into the room. They looked at their comrades and saw that they were safe. Will picked up Saya in his arms and they started to walk out of the place. As the moon was in the night sky, Will and Halt were able to see it after what seemed like forever. Will looked over and saw Tug, Abelard, and Shun standing there. Shun was the first to come over and look at Saya when he had concluded she was ok, he looked at Will as if saying he was ready to go. Will took his reign and attached it to Tug's saddle. Gilan held Saya as Will mounted and then handed her to him and he held her tight in his arms.

"There's a camping area just two miles from here, are you sure you and Halt can make the trip back to your cabin?"

"It'll be better for all of us if we do."

Gilan nodded, and then looked at Saya.

"She's tough; you think she'll be alright now? You think she be able to live now going through that?"

"She will. She has me and Halt, I think she'll be fine."

Gilan nodded again. Being Halt's first apprentice he knew how much Halt cared for him and Will, and how much he probably cares about Saya. He saw how Halt acted at the Gathering so he knew Halt would help her as much as he could and so would Will.

"Let's get going. I don't want to be around here anymore." Halt said and Will smiled he didn't want to be here either. So they left for Halt's cabin and got there just as the moon had reached its peak.


	17. Chapter 17

Will and Halt were Saya's room. Horace had gotten Alyss and Pauline, and they bandaged all her wounds while Gilan and Horce worked on Halt and Will's. Crowley had left for the castle to tell the Barron they were home. After their wounds were bandaged, Horace escorted Alyss and Pauline to the castle.

Saya laid there sound asleep. Will was next to her and Halt was in the door way. Will felt as though it was his fault she went through that, and Halt kept telling him that it was not his fault. Saya had woken up in the morning to find Will sitting next to her asleep. She would have gotten up but the tiredness and the pain that went through her body, she fell asleep again knowing she was safe.

She woke up to someone shaking her and calling her name. As she came to she saw Halt and Will's worried faces. She felt the sweat on her body and pounding of her heart.

"You had another nightmare." Halt said as he sat next to her. "You want to talk about it?"

She shook her head. They all knew what it was about. She got up and grabbed her cloak, bow, and quiver.

"I just need some air." She went outside to a place not too far away from the cabin, but far enough for them not to be able to see her, and started target practice. It was one of the few thing that helped her calm down from nightmares. Pauline described it as it was one of the things she had absolute control in. She knew where she wanted the arrow to go and she put the arrow there, and no one stopped her. It had been two weeks since they had returned home, and Saya was plagued with nightmares. She learned to live on the minimal amount of sleep, even though Will, Halt, and everyone else tried to encourage her to sleep more, it just made it worse. Saya kept on firing arrows trying to get the memories off her mind.

Halt, Will and Crowley sat on the porch as noon approached.

"Do you think she'll get over it?"

"She has a year before the next gathering, Crowley, she'll be fine."

"You think she's strong enough, Halt?"

"I suffered a lot in Skandia but not as much as she suffered in there." Will said plainly. "She didn't say a thing to those guys no matter how hard they pushed her. She made it through that, she can make it through this."

Crowley nodded. He knew this girl was tough but he didn't know how tough. He bid Will and Halt farewell and told him that they would see him at the Gathering.


	18. Chapter 18

As Halt and Will rode in, late, to the Gathering, and everyone stood in silence looking for Saya. Crowley met them at the center of the tents on the grounds. As they dismounted and started to pitch their tents, he spoke,

"Where is Saya?"

Will and Halt looked up at him, both with smiles on their faces. Crowley looked confused until he felt the coldness of a blade on the back of his neck, and he started laughing.

"Nice one kid. You got me twice."

Saya smiled and the rest of the Rangers stood in awe of how this kid had not gotten weakened by what happened to her, but she got even stronger.

As Crowley put his hands up and turned around to the short girl behind him. He smiled and said, "Wow, Will and Halt were right, you are tough."

She blushed and smiled. Her life wasn't defined by what happened to her, but was defined by what she chose to define it by.


End file.
